"Oh yes of course we wait! All these people have been here before us!" Raia says a little annoyed about mentioning a bribe.
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"Friend Steev," Aegis-9 laments. "If only your respect for life were mirrored by your respect for law. These good people in line before us have done us no wrong. Why seek to rob them of an opportunity to purchase an album of their own? Would you have them treated any less carelessly than the featherstalker?"
The android lifts a metallic finger to his chin in contemplation, then solemnly opines, "Any organization that would bar membership due to one's failure to secure an item of personal pleasure through illicit or otherwise questionable means, is not an organization of which I wish to be a part of."
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"I find it curious, my friend, that you who esteem life think so little of the institutions and safeguards that have been emplaced to preserve it." responds Aegis-9. "Even in the absence of the law, the demands of courtesy and mutual respect for other life-forms, an attribute I believe you have displayed in abundance towards non-sentient creatures, would dictate that we allow those who arrived here before us, with no malice to ourselves, to be able to make their desired purchases unmolested."
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The line last for six hours, which makes Raia, Patterson, and Steev quite tired.
You can neither run nor charge, and you take a –1 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, melee damage rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Strength- and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks. The amount of bulk you can carry without becoming encumbered is reduced by 1. If you are fatigued, doing an activity that would normally cause fatigue causes you to become exhausted instead. After 8 hours of complete rest, you are no longer fatigued.
With all the pushing and shoving in line, Raia and Patterson take some damage, but are mostly ok.
You each make it through the line, and are able to purchase the [i]Star Sugar Heartlove!!![/is] for Historia-7. You are also able to purchase additional copies for 50cr each.
"Oh wow! That was ... unbelievably tiring! Imagine ... people in the old days did this all the time! Horrible! Now I want my copy!!! Yes!" Raia says excited!
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The station’s Armada can be seen from the shuttle’s view screen as it takes off, gleaming figures standing out against the emptiness of space.
The Master of Stars immediately stands out from the rest, as layers and layers of scaffolding obscure its hull. Tiny lights flicker among the metal beams as distant figures weld plates and heat shields to the ship’s exterior. The shuttle smoothly glides closer until it reaches the starship’s docking bay, slipping through the magic field that keeps the hold pressurized with breathable atmosphere. As the shuttle doors open, a small drone flies in and pops up a holoscreen, displaying a harried-looking ratfolk.
“Finally, fresh meat!” the ysoki exclaims over the screen, sounding pleased. “Name’s Fitch—pleasantries over, time to get to work. I had some trouble earlier with the lights flickering on the ship, and now both the lights and computers have suddenly gone out on E-Deck. No idea what’s causing it, but you work this job long enough and—” Fitch’s attention flicks to something offscreen, and she shouts “Kirkath! The welding torch is not a toy! You wanna go in the toddler’s pen with the other kids?” She snorts dismissively before continuing, “Sorry, some of these little ones would cut off their own heads if I let them. Anyway, it could be some lunkhead screwed up the wiring, but that’s a pretty big system failure for a simple electrical short. I’d prefer to send in some people with combat training to scout it out, just in case someone or something is sabotaging the ship. If it’s nothing, great, get the power back on if you can. If there’s something suspicious, use your comm units to report in to me. I’ll give you the access codes, so— Selicha! If you touch that panel I will staple you to the hull!”
The screen on the drone cuts out, then flashes to display the ship’s schematics and the passwords for the computers on E-Deck.
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"Your enthusiasm is infectious, my friend." Aegis-9 notes as he follows the eager Fix-It. "Undoubtedly, if there is a technical issue in need of repair, you will demonstrate that your nom de guerre is well earned."
"And if sabotage is, indeed, the issue." the android notes, his hand actuator resting upon his recently acquired pistol. "We will deal with it accordingly."
”Thank you very much for your trust! You can rely on us as we have lots of technical understanding ... if I look at the people that you usually work with then I understand that you are a little bit cautious but we are different... I hope. “ she says.
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The Master of Stars is the largest starship in the Society’s arsenal. Even before the events of the Scoured Stars, it was the pride of the fleet. Years of neglect required an extensive retrofit during the events of the Scoured Stars incident, inadvertently saving the flagship. The repairs are still ongoing, hampered by the lack of any senior Starfinders familiar with the ship’s myriad and esoteric systems.
E-Deck is a heavily underused section of the Master of Stars, consisting of various primary access corridors and adjoining chambers. Most side rooms are crew quarters or communal living spaces—far less important locations due to the recent shortage in personnel. The Wayfinders recently started using some of these chambers to store nonthreatening alien objects.
The E-Deck is in total darkness when you arrive. This would make restoring power your first concern.
"Let me try to restore power first! Can't see properly in here!" Raia says.
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"I will speak with the children. Come, let me lead the way." Aegis-9 pronounces. Heading to the area indicated on the monitor, the android attempts to gingerly put the children at ease.
"There is no cause for alarm, little ones." he says. "My companions have restored the lights. I am Aegis-9. My companions and I are Starfinders. We are here to help you."
”Yes, we aren’t the bad guys. We really want to help you!“ Raia says.
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The two children run up to Raia, and hold on to her. The boy, Si, says, "Please don't hurt our friend!" He is definitely looking at Steev when he says this.
Lan says, "It wasn't his fault!"
"We only did it to protect him!" says Si.
"Please don't hurt him!" says Lan, looking at all the weapons the team carries.
"Crawly didn't mean to open the steam vents!"
"We hacked the fire extinguishers to keep you from going in!"
"Please save him!"
The children burst into tears after this flurry of talking!
”Of course we will save him! I am a xenobiologist!“ she says while hugging the kids.
”Now can you show us where he is hiding or how we can attract its attention?“ Raia asks looking at the kids mit the smile.
Raia also supports to find the creature and if she gets a glimpse she tries to identify it.
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As Steev and Raia move in, they are both hit with a blast of foam from above.
Raia manages to get out of the way, but Steev is completely doused with the quickly hardening fire retardant foam.
The children laugh at the vesk xenoseeker.
Lan says, "He is about as tall as we are, but he has lots and lots of legs!"
Si continues, "He doesn't talk much, but it tickles when he walks on you!"
Steam rolls in from the open doors.